Fair Game
by LoveofVelma
Summary: A sequel to the unexpected visitor. What present did Shaggy give Velma on Christmas night? Fred's POV on Shaggy, Velma and his own relationship with Daphne. "T" just to be save in Ch 2 and 3. Pairings: F/D S/V
1. Chapter 1

Fair Game

Disclaimer: Scooby Doo and all related characters are owned by Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., and/or Cartoon Network. All other characters, names, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, events, locals is coincidental.

Chapter one: A Plan is Announced

The man sitting on the sofa raised the cup of hot, chocolate flavored, coffee to his lips; taking a sip, he savored the rich aroma that assailed his nose. A Christmas present of a quarter pound 'sample' had been the introduction; the love affair that bloomed, never faded. Too sweet for an every day coffee, it was perfect for an evening such as this. Another sip and he replaced the cup and saucer on the end table.

If you, a stranger, were to meet this man on the street, you would guess him to be an outdoors man; and you would be right, healthy tan, well built and fit for his age. It would be somewhat difficult to fix his age; the lines around his eyes told of laughter, of someone just out of their teen years. The eyes, a warm friendly blue or cold steel, depending on the situation, would belie that estimate. They were eyes of someone who had seen a lot of the world. Fred now surveyed the room; each had their own bed room here at headquarters but they usually gathered in the over sized family room for snacks and share friendly camaraderie before bed time.

The other man in the room was almost his opposite. The body of a long distance runner; tall, lean and the ability to run for hours without breaking stride. A shock of dark brown hair that refused to be tamed at least had been subdued into a semblance of order, thanks to a determined Velma and a can of hair spray. A lot had transpired between Shaggy and Velma since the previous Christmas night. The next morning, amongst "oohs" and "ahas" from Daphne and with a smile from ear to ear, Velma had worn the silver pendant on the outside of her orange sweater, silently proclaiming they were a dating couple at last. Fred had had his doubts about this change from being just good friends to exclusive dating.

"Fred, Shaggy has had a 'thing' for Velma for a long time; besides, they are good for each other," Daphne had told him later.

"How so? This is our Velma we're talking about remember. And Shaggy is...well, he's Shaggy!" An unconvinced Fred had asked.

"There will be bumps along the way, but I think they'll work things out. We may have to help..."

"I don't want to sound like a broken record here but again, how so?" Fred interrupted.

"By staying out of their way! By giving them the space they need. And I don't want _you_ giving Velma any unwanted big brother advice!"

"She probably wouldn't listen anyway." Fred muttered but Daphne had been proven right.

There had been some tense moments in the months that followed that little talk with Daphne as the new couple got to know each other from a different point of view; not just as friends, but as a new dating couple. What would be allowed and what would result in a blistering slap in the face was just one of the hurdles they had had to settle amongst themselves.

Another dynamic that had to be addressed was Scooby; how would he react to Velma in her new roll in Shaggy's life? In the past he had not had to share his best friend; with Velma and Shaggy dating, it would be completely different. After a few embarrassing incidents resulting from jealousy, Scooby had accepted Velma into his 'inner circle'. Things had gone a lot smoother after that and even Fred had had to admit the wisdom of Daphne's talk.

"Hey gang, I've got a plan." Fred stated, breaking the comfortable silence.

"What kind of plan, Freddy?" Daphne asked without moving her eyes from the fashion show she was engrossed in on the TV. Her mind began the chore of going through her wardrobe in search of the perfect dress regardless of Fred's plan; her mind had narrowed the search to two dresses and a pair of stretch pants then waited for more details on the plan when Fred continued.

"Let's do something different," Fred included the whole group but his attention turned to Daphne, the red head that sat beside him. Red hair that would make a ripe strawberry envious and a curvy shape that any model would die for, she also had a red head's temper and humor to match.

"That new amusement park is open and I've heard it has some killer rides," announced Fred. Daphne settled on the stretch pants; no dresses if they were going on a roller coaster! 'Now, what accessories' she thought.

"Did you have to say "killer rides"?" Shaggy had been standing behind and just to the left of Velma, the perfect position to let his cheek caress the top of her head.

"You know I don't like 'those' rides, Fred. I lose my glasses and spend half the ride looking for them!" Velma added, holding Shaggy's hand with one hand while closing the lid to her lap top with the other.

"I think you look kinda cute without your glasses...in a near sighted, squinty kind of way," Shaggy laughed.

Velma looked around for something to throw at Shaggy but realized every one was looking expectantly at her. "What? Okay, but I'm not going on one of those rides, and that's final!" Velma said definitely.

"I'll hold your glasses, Velma, and you can hold onto me when you get scared," offered Shaggy.

"Why isn't there a monster around when you need one?" Velma muttered to herself as her lips curled upward in a sly smile.

The plan had been accepted; no one payed any attention to the deceptive smile on Fred's face.


	2. Chapter 2

Fair Game

Chapter Two: Daphne Takes a Hand

"I think we should split up," Shaggy held a large cotton candy in one hand and Velma's hand in the other. Unseen, Velma snuck a handful of cotton candy.

"That's my line, but a good idea. Let's meet up at the other end of the midway, then decide what we want to do," every one snickered knowingly as Shaggy and Velma waved and walked away.

Daphne put her arm in the crook of Fred's arm, "Thank you," she whispered, kissing his cheek.

"Why...I didn't do anything?" Fred looked into Daphne's blue eyes, her hair tickling his nose.

"Exactly! Now, what do you plan for _us_?" Daphne ran her hand slowly down his chest and then dug her hand into his ribs.

"I thought we might just walk around, see what's here then decide what rides we want to try."

The night was warm, just cool enough to be comfortable; a typical spring night in Coolsville. The bright, glaring neon lights beckoned every one to try their luck in the many county fair type games.

The neon lights tried to hide the trap inherent in all the games. The idea was to make money for the owners and employees. Some of the games were honest but the prizes these offered were cheap, dime a dozen type. The other games were rigged in some fashion with little or no chance to win the big prizes.

The amusement park had been laid out in a large "T" format with food vendors and some easy rides and games for families with kids along the top of the "T"; the more difficult the game, the further down the "T". Fred and Daphne tried several of the easier games with little interest and less luck.

"I think I'll wait for the malt shoppe," Daphne answered Fred when he pointed at a food vendor offering BBQ ribs, "I don't want to hurl if we're going on one of "those" rides." They laughed at Velma's aversion to the more adventurous rides and wondered how Shaggy was going to get her on one. Not to mention that she had an aversion to BBQ sauce on her fingers...and pants. They never offered enough napkins! They sauntered down the midway between games of chance and vendors calling out taunts to get people to buy whatever it was they were selling.

"Hey Blondie, try your luck. Win a prize for your girlfriend!" or they would try Daphne, "You know your boyfriend can win you a prize here!" The din from people screaming on the rides and just milling around was noisy, good natured and boisterous.

"Knock the bottles down, win a prize! Only twenty-five cents! One fourth of a dollar!..." could be heard clearly over the din. Fred and Daphne stopped, checking out this game that had been around as long as the first amusement park. It looked easy; three bottles set in a triangle. All you had to do was knock all three off the makeshift bench with a softball. Easy.

Daphne looked bored to tears but Fred watched intently as several people, kids as well as a few adults tried unsuccessfully to knock the bottles off the bench. Fred saw the barker's eyes as they checked out the couple as he urged his "customers" to try again, "only twenty-five cents, one quarter of a dollar!"

The barker's eyes had swept over Daphne first; from red hair down over her clinging top, down her long, shapely legs to the calf high boots. Fred thought of a shark circling his prey. Then it was Fred's turn to be scrutinized, to be sized up as either a problem, park lizard, or potential sucker. Fred wondered which pigeon hole he had been placed and when the shark would attack. That question was answered when a kid walked off, a dollar lighter in his pocket but hopefully a little wiser although Fred didn't hold out much hope in that area.

"Hey Blondie!" The barker called out, "you can't win your sweetheart a prize if you just stand there! Play or move on...Ya bother me kid." Fred looked at Daphne, raising his eyebrows.

"Go ahead, Freddy, I'll take that teddy bear on the left. He's kinda cute...like you." the giggle that escaped Daphne was kinda cute too. At three foot tall and wearing a purple vest with big, bright, silver buttons he did stand out on the top row. And he was kinda cute, if you liked the fuzzy look. Fred stepped up to the counter, digging in his pocket for his two bits when he was pushed out of the way.

"We'll take our turn...Now!" Fred turned to see who had pushed him. "It's Billy's turn, you don't mind do you Blondie?" The man, late teens or maybe real early twenties, was obviously the Alpha dog in this pack. The guy flipped the ball over his shoulder to be caught by Billy. It never mattered the size of the pack, whether three or thirty, there was always one strangler, one that never quite made it into the pack. For this pack Billy was the strangler; used for the butt of jokes, a gofer, or a punching bag if the need arose.

"Just you watch, Josh! Those bottles are going to fly!" Billy was the skinniest kid Fred had ever seen. To call him "String bean" would have been a compliment! Fred almost felt sorry for the kid. Almost.

Fred saw the barker move his hand down under the counter; he didn't know what he had under there and he didn't want to find out. "It's okay," Fred said loud enough for the barker to hear, "let him have his turn." Fred didn't want trouble, not tonight, he had other plans. Plans that included Daphne, a scary ride and lots of hugs. But like a lot of Fred's plans, this one had just hit a major obstacle.

"Why don't you guys just leave," Fred heard Daphne say. 'Oh! Just great! Any chance of getting out of here without trouble just went up into the night air' Fred thought. Josh turned his attention toward Daphne.

"Watch this Josh!" Billy reared back like the pitcher he had seen on TV. The ball did just as Fred expected, flying high right. Billy had missed all three bottles.

"What if I don't want to leave...unless you want to leave with me?" His eyes roamed over her body from top to bottom and back again. Billy's ball had hit the canvas backstop with a '_thud!'_ rolling to the feet of the barker who picked it up, tossing it to Fred who caught the ball and stepped beside Daphne in one smooth move.

"You think I should leave with you?" Daphne smirked, cocking her head to one side, "you have to have a brain to think, I'm so sorry."

"She's not fair game. She's with me." Fred said quietly.

Billy

Billy found himself in no man's land. On one side he had to stay loyal to Josh if he ever wanted to be accepted. On the other hand, he had seen Blondie's eyes when he stepped beside the gorgeous red head; he wanted no part of those eyes! He couldn't run and he didn't want to stay. And then Josh's friend, Mark, did something really stupid. Billy tried to stop him but didn't see the movement in time.

Josh

Josh had been a bully since he was old enough to walk. He was also smart enough to know who he could bully and who to stay away from. He realized his mistake too late with Blondie and the cute red head. He knew she was taunting him. There was something about her that made him nervous. Blondie's eyes scared him. Ever since Blondie had caught the ball and stepped beside the red head Josh had been trying frantically to think of a way out of this mess. Those eyes were cold hard steel and if something went wrong there would be no way out.

He saw Mark's hand go out in an attempt to touch the red head. What was he thinking!? Maybe Mark just wanted to cop a feel or maybe teach the girl some manners in speaking to Josh. From Josh's angle he couldn't tell if the red head was distracted in taunting him and Mark actually got close enough to touch her breast; it didn't matter, within seconds he was on his knees and screaming in pain.

Fred

Fred saw the other kid move to touch Daphne. "Bad move, kid' he thought, letting the ball roll off his fingertips from one hand to the other, back and forth. Fred saw Daphne's hand shoot out like a striking Cobra, grab the offending arm, turn it 180 degrees, and with the hand bent at the wrist by the pressure of a thumb, the kid fell to his knees, screaming in pain.

"Let's sit this one out. Let the big dogs handle this, shall we?" Daphne smiled sweetly but Fred thought the kid knew she would and could break his wrist if tempted. What scared Fred was the fact that she'd be smiling that sweet smile as she heard the bones crack!

Billy

Mark's screams were enough! The decision to run or fight over--- he ran!

Josh

Josh tried to ignore Mark's screams, now only whimpers, tears of pain rolled down his cheeks. That rolling the ball from hand to hand was getting on his nerves and Mark's whimpering wasn't helping.

And those eyes! He had tried to look away, to look at the red head and what she was doing to Mark; thankful it wasn't him! He had tried to look away from those eyes that just stared at you, as if they had a power of their own but he couldn't tear his eyes away.

"We got a problem here, buddy?" a voice came from Blondie's left. If Josh wasn't scared before, he was now. He hadn't seen the man approach; it was as if he had appeared out of the night. Blondie didn't move a muscle, he just kept rolling that ball from hand to hand.


	3. Chapter 3

Fair Game

Chapter Three: A Date with a Teddy Bear.

"Do _we_ have a problem, Josh?" Fred's voice was as cold as his eyes.

"No! No problem, man. We were just leaving. It's a dumb game anyway! Your friend can release Mark."

"Please?" Daphne added just a little more pressure, resulting in a muffled scream from Mark.

"Please!" Josh pleaded. Daphne stepped back, releasing Mark's hand. He jerked it away, shaking it to get the pins and needles pain to subside as he and Josh walked away.

"Thanks guys but I could have handled those three," Daphne looked at Shaggy, "Where is Velma?"

"In the crowd, ready to alert security if things went South," Shaggy laughed, "I just came over to watch the fun."

"I know you could have handled it, I was just going to handle the skinny kid and let you have your fun with Josh and Mark," Fred smiled, placing his arm around her waist.

"Why can't we go any place without running into trouble? You guys ready to leave?" Shaggy asked.

"Not yet, Shaggy, I have a date with a teddy bear." Fred held up the softball.

"Let me guess which one!" Velma said as she joined her friends. Shaggy put his arm loosely around her shoulder and Velma snuggled into his embrace.

-----------Xxxxxx

Only a few minutes passed before Shaggy and Velma continued down the midway and Fred placed his quarter on the counter, "I think it's my turn."

"After that, the first throw is on the house," the barker stepped to the side.

A free throw? Fred was surprised because it just wasn't done! Never! The surprised look must have been on his face still when he looked over at Daphne. She stepped closer and pressed her lips solidly against his, holding the kiss for several seconds, "for luck" she whispered and stepped away.

Two surprises within thirty seconds! Fred had expected a chaste peck on the cheek, "for luck" at most. This had not been a quick peck on the cheek! Nor had it been chaste!

He had spotted the "trap" in the game in rolling the ball off his fingertips. It would go unnoticed by kids and adults alike, except for maybe a professional baseball player. The balls had been weighted to curve to the right!

Adjusting for the extra weight and encouraged by Daphne's kiss, Fred let the ball fly toward the triangle of bottles. All three bottles ended on the ground and Fred was on his way to his date with a certain teddy bear.

"You've played this game before," the barker observed as he went through the motions of resetting the bottles and picking up the ball.

"Not at all. This is my first time," Fred replied honestly. He had played baseball before of course, but he'd found his love in football; staying for hours after practice, working with his receivers. He had developed a system of throwing to a spot, trusting the receiver to be there when the ball arrived. He was using that experience now.

"You can keep this prize and walk away or put it up against another throw for a prize in the next row," the barker pushed a cheap stuffed toy at Fred. Fred's answer was to push the toy back along with enough money to cover five throws.

"Confident...I like that."

The next two throws ended with the same result as the first. Three rows down, two to go!

"You're going to keep knocking them down as fast as I can put them up aren't you?" the barker placed the ball in front of Fred.

"That's the plan."

"Well,you've gotten further than most and further than I expected," the barker told him, "anyone gets this close, I close the game down. It's just you and the bottles, no distractions," He winked and looked over at Daphne, "Good luck."

----------Xxxxxx

They walked down the midway hand in hand.

"I'm sorry, Daph. I was so close! But it was nice of him to let you have your pick from the fourth row."

Daphne stopped walking, looking at him. Still holding his hand she led them past two vendors to an area that had been set up with picnic tables. Setting the foot high teddy bear on an empty table she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Freddy, do you think the teddy bear was all that important to me?"

Fred wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. "Maybe not...but it would have been nice. I guess we still have the scary roller coaster ride. You can hold onto me if you get scared." Shaggy had borrowed his line, now he returned the favor. He left a trail of kisses from ear to shoulder.

"That tickles! But don't stop! Freddy, if your leading up to asking something, you need to know something first," she whispered in his ear, leaving her own trail of kisses, "I hold on tight and for a _very_ long time. Are you asking what I hope you're asking?"

"Daphne, I'm asking if you think there might be...room for two couples in Mystery Inc?"

Her kisses held no surprises this time.

"Come on, I want one ride on the roller coaster, then I want to go to the malt shoppe to celebrate," she finally broke the kiss, "at least we'll have one advantage over Shaggy and Velma."

"What's that?"

"We won't have to deal with Scooby's jealousy!"

-------------Xxxxxx

Prologue

Daphne

The air was warm and intoxicating. Perhaps it was the sounds and smells of the midway, or maybe from the passionate kisses she and Fred had just shared. Daphne Blake didn't question the reasons for the feeling of walking on air.

She waved at the sight of Shaggy and Velma waiting for them. She grabbed Fred's hand and together they rushed to meet their friends and show off the teddy bear tucked under her arm. Daphne laughed, she had a date with her favorite teddy bear! And she was going to hold on very tight. For a very long time.

Fred

The neon lights beaconed one and all to try their luck. 'Talk about luck! I'm the luckiest guy in the world!' he thought. 'Where is all this leading? Wherever it's going...it's sure going to be an interesting ride!'

The Barker

The barker watched until the couple disappeared into the crowd. His break over, he tossed the ball into the bin with the other balls weighted to curve left. Flipping the sign from 'closed' to 'open', he placed a ball weighted to curve right on the counter.

"Never give a sucker an even break!" he said to himself, then yelled out, "Knock down the bottles, win a prize! Only twenty-five cents! One fourth of a dollar! How about you, kid, try your luck!?"

The fair game continued.

--------Xxxxxx

A month later, the Coolsville paper carried the engagement announcement of Fred Jones and Daphne Blake. No wedding date was announced.

Several days later a large box was delivered to Mystery Inc headquarters addressed to Fred and Daphne. Daphne eagerly tore the wrapping paper off the package. Opening the package she pulled out a three foot teddy bear dressed in a purple vest with big, silver buttons. There was no accompanying card.

Daphne cried anyway.


End file.
